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The Astronauts Memorial
NASA's Spaceport USA, Kennedy Space Center
Florida
In essence, the design for the Astronauts Memorial is not a "design" at all, but rather a view of the astronauts'
world: the sky and beyond. At this level, in fact, the memorial is not a "memorial" in the traditional sense
either, but a window onto the experiences of the astronauts within this world. The visitor is offered a sense of
the astronaut's mission -- the mission to exist in this ethereal realm, and comes to feel the awe that such a
mission must inspire, to understand its real signIficance. That is, finally, to come to feel the astronauts' own
yearning to be at home there, in space. as active citizens of the universe.
Within this context, then, the "design" for the "memorial" is simply the creation of a home in these heavens for
the memories of the fourteen fallen astronauts. As the astronauts were sent heavenward -- emissaries for
humanity and its highest technological achievements -- so in the memorial their names are placed into these
heavens for humanity by this same technology. The visible "hardware" of the design is the means for
emblazoning the names of the fallen astronauts against the sky -- creating, by this juxtaposition itself, a true
and proper memorial.
The names of the astronauts are cut into the face of the sky -- the mirror which reflects the sky, that is -- and lit
by sunlight reflected through them from behind. The sunlight is caught and diffused by glass inserts which fill
the stenciled letter forms, causing the names to glow. The sky-reflecting mirror is composed of highly polished
granite slabs set onto a framework which eternally tracks the sun. As it tracks the sun through the seasons, this
frame ensures that the larger mirror will only reflect empty sky, without glare, and that the sun will strike on'ly
the reflecting mirrors behind, at the correct angle to light the names.• From dusk until dawn, when the sunlight
is feeble or non-existent, powerful night-lighting will provide supplementary or complete illumination for the
names. In this way the memories of the astronauts will live on among the stars they sought to reach.
The community o( industry which supplies NASA and the astronauts wit~ the technical support that makes their
mission possible will be encouraged to participate in the design of the tracking and mirror systems. Thus, the
memorial becomes a gift of the whole space community.

The Astronauts Memorial
NASA's Spaceport USA, Kennedy Space Center
Florida
In essence, the design for the Astronauts Memorial is not a "design" at all, but rather a view of the astronauts'
world: the sky and beyond. At this level, in fact, the memorial is not a "memorial" in the traditional sense
either, but a window onto the experiences of the astronauts within this world. The visitor is offered a sense of
the astronaut's mission -- the mission to exist in this ethereal realm, and comes to feel the awe that such a
mission must inspire, to understand its real signIficance. That is, finally, to come to feel the astronauts' own
yearning to be at home there, in space. as active citizens of the universe.
Within this context, then, the "design" for the "memorial" is simply the creation of a home in these heavens for
the memories of the fourteen fallen astronauts. As the astronauts were sent heavenward -- emissaries for
humanity and its highest technological achievements -- so in the memorial their names are placed into these
heavens for humanity by this same technology. The visible "hardware" of the design is the means for
emblazoning the names of the fallen astronauts against the sky -- creating, by this juxtaposition itself, a true
and proper memorial.
The names of the astronauts are cut into the face of the sky -- the mirror which reflects the sky, that is -- and lit
by sunlight reflected through them from behind. The sunlight is caught and diffused by glass inserts which fill
the stenciled letter forms, causing the names to glow. The sky-reflecting mirror is composed of highly polished
granite slabs set onto a framework which eternally tracks the sun. As it tracks the sun through the seasons, this
frame ensures that the larger mirror will only reflect empty sky, without glare, and that the sun will strike on'ly
the reflecting mirrors behind, at the correct angle to light the names.• From dusk until dawn, when the sunlight
is feeble or non-existent, powerful night-lighting will provide supplementary or complete illumination for the
names. In this way the memories of the astronauts will live on among the stars they sought to reach.
The community o( industry which supplies NASA and the astronauts wit~ the technical support that makes their
mission possible will be encouraged to participate in the design of the tracking and mirror systems. Thus, the
memorial becomes a gift of the whole space community.